Kodak

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Eastman Kodak Co. said Monday it has suspended indefinitely the production of its disc cameras, a move some observers say could doom that fading photographic format. Kodak said it will continue to make film for the cameras. However, given the current slow sales for the cameras, it won`t resume manufacturing them until at least after the current inventory has been reduced. "We have enough inventory for at least a month," said Kodak spokesman Ron Roberts. "I don`t see a return to production in the next month or so."

In mid-June the Eastman Kodak Co. introduced a new line of 35 mm cameras, featuring compact size, soft-edged styling and easy-to-use controls. But what may be the cameras` most unusual selling point is their instruction books. According to Kodak, the instruction manuals for the four Star cameras have already won two awards, both coming from the Society for Technical Communication. What's the big deal? Mainly that they`re designed for easy reading, arranged in logical, functional steps and laced with enough illustrations to allow even illiterates to understand how to take pictures.

You have a 35 mm. camera and want to take clear, sharp, interesting pictures, maybe even comparable to those you see in newspapers or magazines. But you don`t take good pictures, in spite of the fact that you have a keen interest in photography and work hard at it. You`ve read the camera's instruction booklet carefully and have mastered the mechanics. You know how your camera works. That's not the problem. Your pictures do not measure up to expectations. They`re fuzzy, unsharp, badly composed, incorrectly exposed.

Eastman Kodak Co. and the University of Illinois` supercomputer center have struck a deal that offers both the prospect of profits while boosting the state of research. Kodak is contributing $1 million a year over the next three years to the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the Urbana-Champaign campus. That $3 million gives Kodak the right to send five of its scientists to the center, where they can mingle with top-flight peers from around the country, set up projects that would be too time-consuming to conduct on slower company computers and generally be on the cutting edge of computer technology, said Larry L. Smarr, center director.

Eastman Kodak Co. Chairman Colby Chandler testified that he knew that getting involved in instant photography could mean a lawsuit from competitor Polaroid Corp., but he said he was convinced Kodak would win. Chandler testified in a U.S. District Court trial that will determine how much Kodak owes Polaroid for infringing on instant-development patents.

Eastman Kodak Co. paid an undisclosed price for the 30 percent of its Japanese subsidiary that it didn't already own to Nagase & Co., a move that could make Kodak more appealing to Japanese film distributors. Last May, Kodak complained that Fuji Photo Film Co. of Tokyo and the Japanese government were collaborating to block Kodak from the Japanese photo market.

In the last several months, I`ve received dozens of letters asking about Kodak's instant camera exchange program. In 1986, a federal court ordered Kodak out of the instant photography business because of patent violations against Polaroid. Those who bought Kodak instant cameras got their choice of a new disc camera and two packs of film, a share of Kodak common stock or a coupon book worth $50 off Kodak merchandise. However, a Cook County Circuit Court judge in Chicago ordered Kodak to stop the refunds until a lawsuit charging Kodak with not offering enough compensation to instant camera owners can be heard.

Eastman Kodak Co. says it opposes Sen. Alfonse D'Amato's (R-N.Y.) plans to organize a boycott of Japan's Fuji Photo Film Co., saying such retaliation won't solve its problems with Japan. Kodak has accused Fuji and Japan's government of blocking access to the Japanese market.